The building of NOVO Osteria has a long and troubled history dating back to the early 11th century: originally a convent, part of a church and then an inn with the post for changing horses, when the Molato dam (one of the first hydroelectric dams to rise in Italy) was built in 1928, it took on the name “Locanda Impero” which then remained until its closure fixing itself in the memory of the citizens. In the postwar years it became the place where the artists, dancers and staff of the nearby Capitol theater used to stay with the consequence of becoming a symbol of Piacenza’s “Dolce vita.”